The 41-year-old photographer, known for his pictures of Japanese pop stars including Ayumi Hamasaki, Yumi Matsutoya and Kumi Koda, was arrested along with two Japanese publishing firm employees.

The trio sold seven copies of a book “containing many photographs explicitly showing male genitals and others” to two customers at the gallery in the upscale shopping and entertainment district of Minami Aoyama, a Metropolitan Police Department spokesman said.